Ten volunteers met with Steve Blow, the Conservation Manager, on the morning of Saturday 11 December at the Cullaloe Reserve. It was frosty and I had driven through thick fog on the way down from northeast Fife, but as we started work the sun broke through.
The main task was to coppice an area of fifteen-year-old willow on the bed of the old reservoir. Steve explained that this was to create some variety in the size of willow growth, particularly for the benefit of scrub nesting birds. We soon warmed up pushing bowsaws back and forth and piling up the brush.
Two volunteers went off to the loch to build a low clay dam to divert water coming off the end of the spillway and thereby halt erosion of a gully.
We got back together for lunch when waterproofs were spread on the ground and we leant back on some of the many willows left standing to eat and chat.
After lunch Steve gave us a tour of Cullaloe – a chance to see the rest of the reserve and learn about its wildlife and management. We carried on the coppicing during the short December afternoon and planted willow cuttings to thicken up the scrub. By the time we left fine drizzle was blowing across the reserve.
This was a great chance for me, as a newcomer to the area, to get to know another reserve, meet some interesting people and do something useful while keeping fit.
Dave Shepherd